I had a wonderful vacation last week. A friend from college and I went camping. We usually are on the go every day and are very busy. This year we ‘did’ less and enjoyed relaxing more. We did take the “Tahquamenon Falls Riverboat Tour” also known as the Toonerville Trolley Train and Boat Tour.It is a 6.5 hour tour starting with a 35-minute narrow gauge train ride, followed bya 2-hour, narrated riverboat cruise. At the rapids above the falls, the river boat docks for an hour and fifteen minutes. There is a .625 mile hike to their view of the falls which is across from the State Park. (I had always wondered how people got over there when I visited the State Park.) You return via the boat and train. It was a good trip which I recommend. Do note the hike is labeled as moderate and there are lots of steps to see the falls.

On our boat trip back, the captain pointed out the smoke from a forest fire and let us know he was calling it in. When we got on the trains, we were told we couldn’t leave until the captain got the all clear that the fire was not near the train tracks. About a half hour later we got the all clear and the two trains left the boat area. Suddenly, in the middle of the forest, someone from the tour company came running from behind telling us to “stop the train!” The train was halted and we were told to wait until instructed to go on. We could see smoke. Then we could see the spotter plane. Then a Department of Natural Resources officer came to us on a four-wheeler. This was when I realized we might be there awhile. He asked if there were any diabetics on the train. There was a person who was diabetic whom he talked with. The officer then went to the other train. Someone from the company said food and water were coming. Now I was really wondering how long we were going to be there. The company brought us bottled water and candy bars –my friend and I split one. The DNR officer then asked if anyone needed medicine soon. He didn’t know that we would be there that long he was just planning ahead. People shared resources like pain reliever and bug spray.

There were people of all ages on the train –from young children to a man in our car who had recently had a heart procedure. While we were waiting, we got to know each other, even if we didn’t share names. We talked about where we lived and tried to pass the time having no idea how long we were going to be in the woods.

As you might imagine things got interesting. Some people wanted to walk out of the woods. They were told if they did, they would be arrested when they walked off the tracks. At least one person walked several feet and reported there was no fire. People wanted a refund for the inconvenience. Some people were getting ‘edgy’and some said things like ‘this is just the way our vacation is going this year’.

My friend pointed out how these kinds of situations show people’s character. I realized she was right. Adversity, whether it is being stuck in the woods, the death of a loved one, an accident, injury, illness or something unsettling in our community, family, church or otherwise in life does show our character. I realized that I don’t always respond the way I really want to respond. When things aren’t going the way I want them to how do I respond? Does it show God’s love? Does my reaction show I care about other people or does it show I care about only myself? James 1, verse 12 reads,“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” When I am under trial do, I act so as to be one who is ‘Inviting people, living the love of Christ’ as our congregations mission statement says? I admit I don’t always. I am grateful for the love and forgiveness of God when I don’t act in a Christ-like way. I hope you will think about how your respond when things aren’t going the way you want them to go: are you showing the love of Christ?

Eventually we were given the permission to continue the trip. In just a few minutes the train was passing through smoke. I had expected to see the fire in the distance but no, the fire was on both sides of the tracks, right next to the tracks where we saw burned trees on both sides. No one was talking about wishing they had walked or wanting a refund any more. We were cheering for and thanking the DNR people who were made it safe for us to travel through the area. We saw the plane that was dropping water from a plane, and where we got off the train the DNR officers’ cars were there, along with State Police troopers and a medical helicopter above us. The DNR responded quickly, efficiently and professionally as did the boat/train company. I thank them and would definitely go on this trip again – hoping for no forest fire. 😊

​How do you respond to adversity? I pray we all show Christ’s love.

​See you Sunday in worship –I hope you invite someone!

​~ Pastor Jackie

P.S. My friend wrote a positive review on "tripadvisor". The next day the company replied it was a 14-acre fire and the DNR was still putting out hot spots.

I cannot thank you, the members and friends of Marble Memorial United Methodist Church for all the prayers, love and support this month. As many of you know my mom died, unexpectedly, July 3rd. While my family and I miss her on this earth we are glad she is eternally with God. She had a strong faith in God for which I am grateful. The prayers, cards, e-mails, texts, hugs and other ways you supported me is very appreciated. The beautiful flower arrangement from the congregation was beautiful and also appreciated. There were so many other ways you showed your love and support: donations in her memory, allowing our Administrative Assistant, Lisa ,to take time away from the office and go in my place on the mission trip, Lisa doing a week’s worth of work in two days and then going on the trip, those who came all the way to Kalkaska for the service, and brought me my prescription eye drops, being okay with my tears in worship and at other times as I grieve and the time away after her death to name a few. Death from this earth is something we know will happen. Yet, when it happens to someone we love, especially a mom, it hurts our hearts and changes our lives no matter what we believe.

Many of you also know my dad fell two weeks after my mom died. He was pull starting his leaf blower, which he has done many, many times. This time he fell forward breaking a vertebra in his neck. He will be in a neck brace for 10-12 weeks. While that will not be fun it could have been so much worse! Once again, I was away so I could be with him while he was in the hospital in Traverse City. Because he is in a neck brace, he will be with my sister most of this time but he will also be at his home in Kalkaska with my brother for a few days and with me here in Milan.

Your prayers for healing for my dad and for all of my family as we adjust to one permanent ‘new normal’ without my mom and one temporary ‘new normal’ while my dad is in a neck brace are appreciated.

Also, thank you for the prayers for my healing when I had laser eye surgery due to glaucoma between the above two events. The surgery seemed to have helped and I don’t see the eye doctor again for four months! God’s healing powers are amazing.

​We were to begin a new worship series on July 21st. That series, “The Art of Neighboring”, will now begin August 4th. Who is your neighbor? Do you know your neighbor? Why is it important to know your neighbor?

History will be made Thursday, May 30 –Sunday, June 2 when the Michigan Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church meets for the first time! For the last two years the now former Detroit and West Michigan Annual Conferences of the United Methodist Church have meet together: same time and place. We did, however, have separate votes on things like nominating leadership, clergy relationships, resolutions that affected only one conference and budgets. This year, after years of much prayer and hard work we are one! This means, amongst other things, we can speak as the United Methodist Church in Michigan.

We will be meeting at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme, near Traverse City. This is one of the very few venues in the state which can hold the 1,400 or so members plus guests. Voting members from Marble Memorial UMC include Rod Hill and Brenda Kempher as your lay members and myself as clergy member.Julie Zawacki will be attending as a guest. She does not have a vote at conference, and is going ather own expense, but can share her observations and thoughts following conference.

This is the first year, at least in several years, where MMUMC has had two lay people as voting members.We have two voting members per the ‘lay equalization formula’ of the new annual conference. This formula is in place to ensure there is an equal number of clergy and lay people at the conference and voting on issues. All clergy who are members of the annual conference must have a lay person to equalize the count. This includes not only District Superintendents, conference staff, persons in extension ministry (such as hospital chaplains) but all retirees –even if they are physically unable to attend. Thus, Marble Memorial UMC has more than one lay member, at least this year. Sometimes people serving in various capacities in the conference will attend as part of this formula. Vicki Englebert attended this way when she was District United Methodist Women president.

During the conference we will be remembering clergy and their family who have passed from this earth during this past year, celebrating clergy milestones including retirees, and those beginning their time as clergy, adopting a conference budget for 2020 and voting on legislation.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Bold and Effective Leaders”. We will be pondering what it takes to be a bold and effective leader, what do we notice when we experience bold and effective leadership, and when you’re trying to be a bold and effective leader, what do you try to “stir up” from within? During our gathering we will look at the wisdom...and heart... and courage it takes to be the leaders God calls us to be as we strive to make disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

For more information on the conference, including what legislation we will be dealing with, go to https://2019.michiganumc.org/. Please keep all involved with the conference in prayer as we gather –and travel to and from Acme.

May marks one year since we adopted our Vital Church Initiative Ministry Plan. Much has happened in this year including Pastor Bob Miller being appointed to Plymouth First UMC and my appointment here at Marble Memorial UMC. A change in pastors is always a major marker for a church and brings change of its own. Our ministry plan has resulted in even more change.

The changes as a result of our ministry plan have been made with the purpose of fulfilling our mission of ‘Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World’. In order to ‘make disciples’ we have to make sure guests feel welcome and comfortable when they are with us for worship or whenever they are in our building and on our grounds.

Some of these changes you may not have noticed or come into contact with, such as our web and Facebook pages. A web page is often visited by persons before they attend worship. Ours is now friendlier to use and is up to date. Some of you have shared our Facebook page, which is a great way to share info about the church! Guests are receiving an e-mail in addition to a hand written note on their visit and a $5 gift card to a local business donated by a member of the congregation.

Things I hope you have noticed include the ‘de-cluttering’ and more open hallways, our ‘connection cards’ and ‘Cup of Grace’. On our ‘connection cards’ we are receiving more information from guests and members alike! More of our guests are sharing contact information and members are volunteering tobe servants in various capacities – it is easier when all you have to do is check the box! ‘Cup of Grace’ has made the long hallway, which most of us walk down to get to the sanctuary, much more friendly as sound and people come to and from the room. Those of us who worship here on a regular basis don’t even notice that hallway but when someone attends for the first time, and has to walk down that long hallway, we want them to have a warm, welcoming feeling. Easter day two of our first-time guests were among the very last toleave the Cup of Grace! That makes me think they felt welcomed. I heard them say they may be back!

These changes, and much more, have been exciting. Yet, we miss some of what we had. You have graciously and even enthusiastically welcomed me as your pastor. Yet, I know you miss Pastor Bob and Rochelle – and that is good. In a similar way, we celebrate what we have done while missing some of what we had. These are not all the changes we have experienced in the last year, and there are more are to come. We continue to make decisions based on our mission of ‘making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world’ while finding ways to keep us all ‘growing in faith’, one of the core values we adopted this year. Thank you for your patience, understanding and efforts as we seek to live out our vision statement and core values:

“Inviting people, living the love of Christ”And, As Followers of Jesus, We Seek to Make a Differencein the World through these Core Values:

Since our last newsletter, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church met deciding to keep our denomination’s official stance of not licensing or ordaining persons for ministry who are gay\lesbian and not allowing clergy to perform same sex weddings, nor can they be performed on our property. With this, the ‘punishment’ for doing these things was made more severe. The conference requested all decisions made be reviewed by our Judicial Council to ensure they fit our constitution. This meeting is scheduled for April 23-26.

Many persons are hurt over this decision. You may have seen a letter in the Ann Arbor News, or other publication, addressed to persons who are LGBTQIA +, signed by many United Methodists sharing disappointment with this decision, seeing forgiveness and committing to working within the United Methodist Church. (more information is at www.michiganstatement.org) People on ‘both sides’ on the issue cite the Bible as the reason they believe what they believe. Please know I, as your pastor, will continue to welcome ALL people to the community of Marble Memorial UMC. I encourage you to talk with me if you have questions or concerns around any matter, including this one. I will work to keep you informed of the Judicial Council decision and all official developments in this and all issues from our district\conference\general church.

In the midst of this there is some exciting things happening here at Marble Memorial UMC. As you likely know we value children and youth (as well as people of all ages) and this was identified as a priority in the ministry plan we adopted last May. Thus, we will soon be advertising a part time (10 hour a week) position for ‘”Children and Youth Ministry Coordinator”! The vision is this person will oversee our children\youth Christian Education and connect with groups of this age using our building and other community groups focusing on these age groups. The money to pay for this position will NOT come from the General Fund instead it WILL COME FROM OUR EDUCATION TRUST. This is how this position has been paid for in the past, at least in part. I am extremely grateful to the Craig family who donated this money to the church about three decades ago. I am also thankful to the leadership of this congregation for picking up this vision and for those who have said they will serve more with someone in this position! We plan to evaluate this in at least a year. Please pray for God to send us someone for this important position. If you are interested, know someone who may be or simply want more information contact the church office.

Our fire alarm system is up and being monitored! Trustee’s Ann Gee and Dave Ludwig and I will be on-call along with Milan Fire Department if the alarm goes off. Unfortunately, this project did not include a new video door entry system. I am sorry for the confusion and watch for this to be completed. We will keep the capital fund going as there are sure to be more upcoming building improvement needs.

As I am writing this, delegates to the 2019 United Methodist Special General Conference are beginning to arrive in St. Louis. The conference is in session from February 23 – 26. Please be in prayer as this group decides how we, as a denomination, will move forward regarding same-gender weddings and ordination of people who are gay \ lesbian. You can see last month’s newsletter for more information.​

No matter what happens the work of the United Methodist Church ‘to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world’ remains as does our vision of ‘Inviting People, Living the Love of Christ.’ I will be attending an all Michigan Conference clergy meeting on Saturday, March 9 where Bishop Bard will be sharing with our conference clergy about the results of this conference and what it means for the church.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 6. We will have a worship service at 7:00 p.m. as we begin to deepen our understanding of the death and resurrection of Christ. This Lent our worship series is entitled, “The Final Words from the Cross.” Each Sunday we will reflect on one of the seven final statements of Jesus, seeking to understand the meaning of Jesus’ dying words for our lives today.

​March 10March 17​March 24March 31​​April 7​April 14​April 21​

​“Father, forgive them …”​“Behold your son”“My God, My God why have you forsaken me?”“Today you will be with me in Paradise”“I Thirst”Palm Sunday “It is finished”Easter Sunday “On the Road to Emmaus”

What an exciting time we are having here at Marble Memorial United Methodist Church! All of our Ministry Plan* task force/ teams that are to be named are named and meeting!! I am still planning on adding persons to the Worship Design Team. That team currently consists of Carol McCrae, Barb Bachant, Tammy Balk and Mike Williams as well as me. If you would like more information about this team or would be willing to consider serving on it please contact me. The Outreach Team and Name Change Task Force have also started meeting. It will be a while before these groups have anything to report. Watch first for a Community Connections Workshop to be held. The Name Change Task Force is being very intentional about considering our name, what it says and what we want it to say to our community. All groups are in prayer about their area with this one being even more attentive to prayer.We have noticed with our new ‘Connection Card’ that we are getting more information about our guests! That is a big step in staying in touch with them. They also provide an easier way for all people (including you!) to stay in contact with us. When you turn them in it helps us serve you in the best way we can! Thank you for turning them in!Many of you stopped by and picked things up from our item give away! These are items the church no longer uses for which we do not know the donor or the donor or family did not want the item. We made reasonable attempts to contact the donor or family.Our church-wide study on our vision statement and core values begins soon! We have changed the starting date to February 3rd (except for the Sunday school class and the small group that meets at Nagle’s). See elsewhere in this newsletter for specific days and times. Be sure to get your book, “The Disciple’s Path”, soon! It is a daily workbook – 5 days a week. This study will help us live out our vision statement and core values. You will grow closer to Christ as you do this study. I hope you will participate!This month the United Methodist Church is holding a special ‘General Conference’. Please see elsewhere in this newsletter for a letter from our Bishop about this conference. We, as a United Methodist Church, will be in the news on or before February 26th. I want you to be aware of that. We don’t know what the outcome will be but I do know our United Methodist mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world will continue as will our congregations’ vision of ‘Inviting people, Living the Love of Christ.’ Please pray for our delegates and leadership of this special conference – as well as the leaders of our congregation.

See you Sunday! Pastor Jackie Roe

*Copies of this plan we adopted in May 2018 are available in the office. ​

The mission of the United Methodist Church, or why the United Methodist Church exists, is ‘to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”​

When we adopted our ministry plan (available in the church office) in May, one of the things we agreed to do is determine a vision statement and core values. As stated in our ministry plan: “A shared vision creates clarity, calms anxieties, and calls us to align our core values and structure in order to fulfill the outwardly focused mission of the United Methodist Church, “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”With that in mind we had a church wide workshop in September to begin that process. A writing team went to work with the information from that workshop which resulted in Church Council affirming the following vision statement:

​“Inviting people, living the love of Christ.

And, As Followers of Jesus, We Seek to Make a Difference in the World through these Core Values:

Worshipping God

Loving and respecting all

Serving others

Growing in faith

(This was introduced during worship on November 18th and in last month’s newsletter.)

​The next thing our ministry plan calls for us to do with in this area is a worship series and church wide study. These will begin Sunday, January 27th. Like the study that was done last winter with “Who Stole My Church” we will offer groups at various times and days. Please watch weekly bulletins and emails for more specifics about these groups. We will be using the book, “A Disciples Path” for the study. This book is also in preparation for a spiritual growth plan as called for in our ministry plan.​This is an exciting time at Marble Memorial UMC! Have you visited “Cup of Grace” located across from the office for coffee? There are new furnishings as well as good coffee and tea! Have you noticed the new bulletin format? Have you noticed some less ‘clutter’ throughout the building?Many things that are no longer of use at the church will be made available to members of the congregation January 13 – 27. During these three Sundays and during office hours you can come in to see what is available. Big items can be tagged until you can make arrangements for pick up in a few days. For those items where we know the donor, reasonable efforts to contact the donor or family will have been made to see if they would like the item back.All of this, and more, to make ourselves more ready for guests who may not know Christ or know the building, so that we can fulfill our mission of making ‘disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world’ while being “Inviting people, living the love of Christ.”

See you Sunday! -Pastor Jackie Roe

P.S. Thank you for all the cards, gifts and ways you have remembered me at Christmas. It was all appreciated. You are a great congregation with whom I am blessed to serve.

I am really excited by several things happening at Marble Memorial United Methodist Church. The first two make sure to read about elsewhere in this newsletter: this is my first experience with the ‘Goodie Sale’ and what is happening as we implement our ‘ministry plan’. (If you were in worship Nov. 18th you heard an update including our new vision statement and core values – who we strive to be and how we strive to get there.) Another thing I am excited about is Advent and Christmas! I have heard about what the building may look like when it is decorated, including new trees. Decorations are important and can help us grow closer to God during this time. What I am really eager to begin is our Advent study and worship series. It is entitled ‘The Journey: Walking the Road to Bethlehem.” This study and series will help us better understand the events that led to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem while we see more clearly its theological meaning and reflect on the meaning of these events for us. Our worship series and study is based on the series by the Rev. Adam Hamilton with the following themes each week:

Sunday, Dec. 9th and Wednesday, Dec. 12th: same times looking at‘Joseph of Bethlehem.’

Sunday, Dec. 16th and Wednesday, Dec. 19th: same times looking at ‘Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth’

Sunday, Dec. 23rd: Morning Worship and 6 p.m. focusing on ‘From Nazareth to Bethlehem.’(Our Wednesday group will decide if/when they do this session.)

The studies are the same with one being at night and one during the day. Pick the one that fits your schedule or change every week. If you are interested but these times don’t work for you let me know and I will see what I can do.

Also available is a daily devotion. They are available now at the church. There are 28 devotions in the book that go with this series. It is suggested you begin on December 1st but whenever you start is good. There is a suggested donation of $9 per book but having one is more important than paying for it! And … of course there is Christmas Eve! Services will be at 6:00 and 8:00 p.m.

Has anything changed in your lifetime? Have you had a birth in your family? A death? A marriage?Everyone has at least one of these things happen in their life. Another thing that any adult has seenchange is phones. I am old enough to remember when the phone was on the wall and we had no ideawho was calling until we answered it. Now, I carry I phone in my pocket and may not answer it if Idon’t know who is calling. As much as I may grumble about not being able to get away from the phone,I really don’t want to go back to a phone on the wall.Things change over time. That does not mean how things were done previously is bad or wrong, justdifferent. The phone on the wall was what we knew and we didn’t think anything about getting up toanswer it.As we continue to work our ‘ministry plan’, which we as a congregation adopted in May of this year,several things the church does will change. (See elsewhere in this newsletter for more informationabout what is happening with our plan.)Please remember as these changes occur just because something is changed does not mean it did notat one time meet the needs of the day. What at one time was ‘current’ and even ‘beautiful’ may notmeet the needs \ desires of people today and may not be ‘beautiful’ any longer.Please know that I, and I believe others, appreciate the hard work of the many people who have putmany hours into the ministry of the congregation. I appreciate the things that have been purchasedthrough the years to enhance ministry, including the building, of this congregation. If it had not beenfor people giving so much time, and money, our congregation may not be here today. We would nolonger be ‘making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world’.In order to survive and thrive as a congregation who is effectively “making disciples of Jesus Christ …”we need to make some changes to how we reach those who do not yet know Christ. Mark 2:22 talksabout not putting new wine into old wineskins. We, as a congregation, need to adopt some ‘newwineskins’ to reach those who do not yet know Christ, or may be looking for a new church home. Wedo this so that our congregation will be here for years to come and many more will become disciplesof Jesus Christ and transform our world. Our world does need some things transformed, but that isanother topic.Below, you will see a picture of some of the new kitchen pulls and handles at the parsonage. Yourtrustees bought and installed them not only to make the kitchen look nicer and make the doors easierto open but to extend the life of the doors. Likewise, some things at the church will change so that God‘looks nicer’, is easier to access and who’s message is extended.See You Sunday!… Pastor Jackie Roe